Captive
by Higuchimon
Summary: [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.
1. Lost

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 1: Lost  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,269||story: 2,269  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

Motomiya Daisuke knew what fun was. He'd had fun before, many times in his eleven years of life. Fun involved hanging out with his friends, playing soccer, watching television with his family, and these days, taking trips to the Digital World. Fun involved knocking down the Digimon Kaiser's control spires and seeing him rant and rave about it.

Fun did not involve getting slammed with an entire herd of Tyrannomon with Evil Spirals on and having to run for his life while Raidramon blasted them with everything that he had. Fun really didn't involve not just running for his life, but running until he couldn't breathe and realizing that he didn't know where in the Digital World he was anymore.

He closed his eyes, leaned against a tree, and did what he could to catch his breath. He did a good job of it; all of his years in sports came in handy.

"Okay," he muttered to himself as he started to calm down. "I need to get back there." His friends needed him. Raidramon could fight pretty well on his own, but what if they needed to change to FlaDramon or something? What if the Kaiser had caught them, for real this time?

Daisuke didn't like thinking about _that_ particular little adventure. Bowing down to Ken hadn't bothered him nearly as much as the thought that his friends might die a horrible screaming death and there wasn't anything he could've done about it.

So, he needed to get back there and make certain that everyone was all right.

Maybe once he found something to drink first. He rubbed his throat; why didn't they bring drinks with them on trips like this? After all that running, he really needed something cold. Summer was still a few weeks away, but it was hot here in the Digital World, which didn't help at all.

There were two sources of refreshments he could find. One was a random refrigerator that might or might not have something like milk or lemonade or soda or tea in it. Those were chancy and sometimes they'd come across ones that had unopened but empty cans. Daisuke privately considered those to be absolute cheats.

Miyako publicly considered them the same thing, and had declared so more than once at the top of her lungs. Daisuke kind of hoped that he'd hear her doing so any second now. It would make find them that much easier if she'd bellow for him.

The other chance for something to drink was a lot likelier: simply finding a stream or river of some kind. Digital water tasted just as good as water from Earth and once in a while it even came in flavors. Takeru insisted that he'd found a lemonade spring once, but he'd never been able to remember where it was.

As fast as he's been running, and as little attention as he'd paid to where he was going, Daisuke had to sort of guess which way he'd come from. Then he almost smacked himself and dug his D-Terminal out of his pocket. A few quick flicks of his fingers sent a message off to everyone else.

_Hey, guys! I'm on the way back. Might take me a while, but I'll be there soon!_ He fully expected some kind of quick reply, probably from Miyako with her typical exasperation about how only he could get lost when trying to save himself from being eaten.

What he didn't expect, and what he got, was a small beeping sound from the device and an error message.

_Message not sent?_ Daisuke tapped it again. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen.

Again the error message flicked onto his screen. A thin thread of fear wormed its way down Daisuke's spine and he took a careful look around. Something wasn't right. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it, and he wanted to get out of here and back to the others even faster.

What he liked even less was the sudden feeling that someone was watching him. There were probably Digimon he couldn't see hiding all over the place. Most Digimon hid anytime there was any chance that the Kaiser could be in the area, and Daisuke didn't think he'd ran _that_ far from where the battle had broken out. So it wasn't too much of a stretch to guess that Ken could be around.

Though wouldn't he be concentrating on saving his precious spire? Daisuke kind of thought that was how he'd think, but he couldn't be sure. Figuring out how Ken thought gave him a headache.

He took another look around. He couldn't see any of the spires in the area anyway, and certainly not the one they'd been attacking. Some of the areas were close together enough so that they could, and frequently did, cross from one to the other without even noticing it, so that wasn't much of a surprise, if it was what had happened.

_I looked at the map before we got here. All the areas around here were under his control. There wasn't supposed to be a free area for miles._ And he knew that he hadn't run for miles.

Daisuke moved carefully. If there were Digimon with Evil Rings or Spirals in the area, he didn't want to run across them, not when he didn't have his partner with him. He was pretty sure that a good swift kick wouldn't do a lot of good when it came to breaking one of those.

_Well, maybe it would._ He had to grin at the thought. _I don't think I've tried it yet._

He wasn't sure offhand if he really wanted to, but running out to find the nearest Ringed or Spiralled Digimon was a little too reckless even for Daisuke. At least doing it alone. _Once I find the others, then I'll do it._ He liked the notion, now that it had occurred to him, and it gave a little extra spring to his step as he kept moving, trying to find his own backtrail.

The feeling of eyes watching him hadn't stopped for a moment. If anything, it got worse as he worked his way back. He kept trying to send his message to the others, but every time, the same error occurred. Daisuke wasn't the same kind of book-smart as Koushirou or Miyako was, but he knew something was up. Something that he _really_ didn't like.

Something that reeked far too strongly of the Digimon Kaiser and his tricks than anything else.

"Are you around here?" Daisuke didn't want to shout. Under any other circumstances, he would have. He would've bellowed the question at the top of his lungs and demanded answers from anything or anyone that dared to present itself. But the longer he remained without V-mon, the more it began to trickle into his mind that a human alone in the Digital World was a human in a great deal of danger.

Especially when that human was him, and the Digimon Kaiser had more than once displayed something that other people might call a bit of an obsession with humiliating him.

He still hadn't found anything to drink, and that irked him almost as much as the persistent feeling that someone was watching him. He thought it probably annoyed him more, because with someone watching him, he'd be able to punch them out sooner or later. Or at least find out who it was. But when it came to something to drink, the odds of doing that depended either on finding a stream or a television set so he could head back to Earth and the school water fountains.

Okay, he'd look for his friends first and foremost. Once he found them, then he could go back and get something to drink, or see if any of them knew where he could get a good drink here. And that was if he didn't find one while he was looking for them.

He took another look around as he kept moving. No one had answered his question, and he wasn't very unhappy about that. He'd almost never been afraid while in the Digital World and he didn't like feeling that way now.

But that sensation of being watched hadn't faded at all, and he picked up his place just a little more. The sooner he got back to everyone else the better.

The more he walked, though, the more he found himself hoping that he _could_ get back to them. With his D-Terminal unable to send a message, they wouldn't know he was coming or what had happened to him.

_So, they're gonna start looking, right?_ They'd use their… and Daisuke smacked himself in the face. He knew he wasn't the smartest person to ever strut around in two worlds, but he should've figured out to use his D-3 a lot sooner than he had. He tugged it out of his pants and checked for other signals.

There weren't any.

"There's no way I ran that far." There was a range on these things, but he couldn't think of what it was, but even when they couldn't see each other, he knew the D-3s could pick each other up. Something he didn't like at all was going on here.

He didn't put the D-3 away, though. Maybe if he just kept going, he'd find a signal. Someone's signal, anyway. He couldn't remember having ever picked up Ken's on any other trip here. For right now that meant that the Kaiser wasn't in the area or he was somehow hidden from them.

Daisuke stopped in his tracks a few minutes later, staring at the far too inviting stream that wended its way through a clearing. He knew he hadn't seen it on his mad dash to avoid getting eaten or worse, because he would've noticed splashing through it.

_Did I take a wrong turn?_ That wasn't impossible. He hadn't marked his trail going out, and the grass and moss of the Digital World were so thick here that he couldn't find any footprints he might've left behind.

He tucked his D-3 and D-Terminal back into his pockets and headed over to the stream. He'd at least be able to get that drink before he tried to figure out where he was. That was something, at least.

"If I'd known I was going to get lost, I would've brought a cup with me," he muttered to himself, scooping up a handful of water and letting it trickle into his mouth. He was pretty sure that wouldn't have made sense to anyone but him, but since he was the only person there to hear himself, it didn't need to make sense to anyone else.

"I would think if you'd known you were going to get lost, you would've brought a useful map." A voice he would've paid money not to hear right now came from behind him. Daisuke froze where he was. "I wouldn't make any sudden moves if I were you. Of course, if I were you, I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with, since I would know better than to fight me."

"That didn't make _any_ sense." Daisuke refused to turn around just yet. If he didn't see Ken for himself, then perhaps Ken wouldn't actually be there. Maybe the water did something to his head. He'd much rather believe something like that than be on the verge of being captured by his mortal enemy. He'd been caught before. He hadn't liked it any other time and he didn't see why this should be any different.

"Perhaps not to you, but I wouldn't expect it to. Not with _your_ level of intellect." It was amazing how quickly Ken's slightest words could make Daisuke want to turn around and punch him. For that matter, he suddenly couldn't see any reason why he didn't do just that right now.

He whirled, hoping he was too fast for Ken to do anything to stop him, and rammed one fist directly toward the Digimon Kaiser.

He should've remembered the only time he'd ever been able to get a punch on Ken had been when the other hadn't expected him to strike at all. Ken moved smoothly backward, one foot slipping forward to catch around Daisuke's ankle, and jerked, sending the Chosen Child tumbling toward the ground.

"Is that the best you can do?" Ken shook his head, setting one foot onto Daisuke's back and grinding until Daisuke had to fight to breathe. "This is almost too easy."

"Sorry to disappoint you." Daisuke lied, struggling to push the other back and having no success. Ken wasn't bulky by any means, but there was plenty of muscle there to keep Daisuke down, and Daisuke himself wasn't in any position to do more than squirm fruitlessly.

"I'm sure you are." Ken chuckled, a sound that sent shudders all through his opponent. "But you won't be for much longer."

Daisuke managed to wiggle around just enough so he could look at the other. "What are you talking about? I won't be sorry much longer? Or I won't disappoint you?" He wanted to take any chance he could to at least distract Ken. Maybe that would help. Somehow.

Ken only smiled, a look that made Daisuke want to get out of there even more. "You won't disappoint me much longer. I'm conducting an experiment, Motomiya, and you're going to help me."

"Not interested."

Ken's whip uncurled and he snapped it forward, the lash wrapping around Daisuke's throat and tightening into a makeshift leash. "I wasn't asking."

**To Be Continued**


	2. Taken

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 2: Taken  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,225||story: 4,494  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

Ken tightened his grip, pushing Daisuke farther down. The Chosen Child kept on struggling, refusing to admit he'd been defeated. Ken narrowed his eyes. He should've guessed the idiot wouldn't do what was best and surrender. This _was_ Daisuke, after all. No matter. He'd already made plans for that.

He glanced slightly beyond the squirming boy and nodded. Daisuke's eyes widened, though he couldn't have any idea of what his captor had in mind. He started to turn his head to see what Ken was looking at, but before he could get all the way around, a spray of thick, sticky liquid washed all over him.

"Sticky Net!" Wormmon declared his attack, wrapping Ken's prisoner up in a cocoon that would've taken a Digimon's strength to break. Daisuke didn't stand a chance of doing it.

"Well done." Ken nodded a slight bit of approval. He hadn't entirely believed that Wormmon could actually do this, no matter how much his so-called partner believed that he could.

_I don't suppose it's that impressive. It is Daisuke._ If nothing else, this meant he wouldn't have to use the back-up plans for subduing and carrying the other back to his base.

He seized Daisuke by the back of his shirt and started to drag him away toward the waiting AirDramon. Several well-placed loops of webbing kept his captive from yelling and screaming, which made this a much quieter journey than it might have been otherwise. That was what Ken wanted; a quick in and out now that he had his target.

Things would get noisy later. Likely not much later, but once he had discovered whether or not his plan could work. If it couldn't, then he'd set up something to lure the rest of the idiots into a trap and leave them somewhere to burn. He didn't want to keep captives that served no actual purpose.

If it did work…ohh, the things he could do then. Ken didn't giggle with glee. But for a few seconds, he kind of wanted to.

Overall, separating Daisuke from his friends and capturing him had been absolute simplicity. Like with everything else, he made back-up plans, just in case the first one didn't go off the way he wanted it to. In point of fact, this one hadn't. He'd intended to take Daisuke in front of everyone else, to let them know that their precious leader now languished in one of his cells.

Not that he would let Daisuke simply 'languish', but there wasn't any reason not to let them think that. Hatred still burned low and hot within for everything that happened on that horrid day and he didn't think he'd _ever_ get enough of avenging himself against Daisuke. The ultimate conquest of the Digital World would certainly manage it. Finding out if Daisuke could be useful in that was a special bonus, one might say.

He tossed Daisuke onto the AirDramon and followed after him with a quick leap. Wormmon wriggled up a moment later, settling down behind him. He would be quiet and obedient for days after those few words of praise. He would need that quiet to work on the next stage of his plan.

At a single motion, the AirDramon rose up until it cleared the treeline. He'd made certain this area was far enough from the sight of the other annoyances that even if they managed to see him, it was all but impossible that they would notice Daisuke with him as well. He didn't _care_ if they knew, since it would increase their anger and frustration, but he could get so much more done if they were confused and worried first.

Speaking of Daisuke, the other kept on wriggling, though he was tied up tightly enough that he couldn't really accomplish much other than wearing himself out. Ken set one foot on him firmly.

"You might as well relax. You're not going anywhere except where I want you to go." He didn't expect the other to listen to him, and true to form, Daisuke just gave him what he supposed was meant to be a dirty look and kept on wriggling. "If you keep on doing that, you're going to fall off. We're high enough that you could very well die."

In point of fact, Ken wasn't certain if people could die here after all, and had never felt the urge to test it. But if it kept Daisuke from falling off and breaking his stupid head wide open before Ken learned what he wanted to know, then it was worth saying something he didn't know as absolute truth.

Not to mention that even if people couldn't die here, he wouldn't put it past Daisuke to figure out a way to do it, just for the sake of contrariness.

His fortress wasn't all that far away; he'd brought it close for this very project. Once he had Daisuke inside, his friends could search for so long as they liked and they'd never find a trace of him anywhere. He knew how to hide himself from every form of searching they had, and they wouldn't be able to locate his Digivice with all of his jamming methods.

He'd used those same methods to make certain that Daisuke didn't get any messages off to them. This was a private party and none of them were invited.

Which reminded him.

As the AirDramon swooped closer to home, Ken leaned down and slipped his hands through the bindings, searching. Daisuke's eyes widened and he wriggled even more. Ken leaned forward, pressing more of his weight on his captive to keep him still.

"That's enough." Ah, there they were. Daisuke still kept them in the same pocket that he had when Ken captured him the first time. Would the fool _never_ learn?

Perhaps. If Ken had the teaching of him, he would. But now the Kaiser straightened up, Daisuke's D-3 and D-Terminal in his hands. "You won't need these while you're with me." He tucked them away into a fold of his cape. He had some plans for them as well, but that would have to wait until after he'd finished what he wanted to do with Daisuke.

Once they whisked into the landing bay, there was a small burst of activity. Two Gotsumon stood awaiting him and Ken shoved his prisoner into their arms and stalked off toward the laboratory that he'd set up for this purpose. The Gotsumon followed, dragging Daisuke between them.

"Hey!" Oh, it seemed Daisuke had managed to get his gag out. Now he would be graced with the brat's blabber until he found a new one. Wormmon had already wriggled off to tend to his other duties, such as making certain there was food ready when Ken wanted it. Which wasn't nearly as often as Wormmon thought he needed it, but Ken didn't care. For the moment, the food could go to Daisuke. He would need it far more than Ken would. "Hey, I'm trying to talk to you! "Be quiet." Ken snapped, not missing a stride. "Experiments don't need to talk."

"Huh?" That was Daisuke's very quick-witted and intelligent reply. About what Ken had expected. "Hey, I'm not an experiment!"

"You are now. A very special experiment, too." Ken smiled a slow smile, turning just so that Daisuke could see it. It must've given the reaction he wanted, since the other quailed back for a few heartbeats.

"You are really, really twisted." Daisuke muttered. He gave a few jerks, but nothing that even gave the Gotsumon a moment of trouble. Ken had chosen them for that purpose; they were both strong warriors who'd given him a great deal of amusement in the arena. Perfect for hauling around a brat who didn't know his place.

The lab held everything that he would need for this, which consisted of a table to strap Daisuke to, monitors for him to keep watch on Daisuke's health and vital signs, and a few other odds and ends so he could create what he needed to test this out.

He slipped a small knife into his hand and came over to stand in front of Daisuke. He didn't usually use weapons like this, preferring his Digimon slaves or his mind, but it made for a little extra intimidation, and when one dealt with Daisuke, one needed all the intimidation that one could get. With one strong swipe he cut through the webbing. A startled noise was all that Daisuke had time to make before the Gotsumon dragged him over to the table and shoved him down on it at Ken's gestured order.

"You've been watching way too many bad science fiction movies!" Daisuke declared, wriggling far more as the Gotsumon fastened down the leather straps to keep him there. "What's next, you're going to conjure up a lightning storm and start screeching about how I'm alive?"

Ken smiled again, and Daisuke didn't look any happier about this one than he had before. "I would say that speaks more to what you've been watching than what I have. But, no. I have other plans for you."

"Hope you forgive me if I don't bounce around in joy."

"I'll think about it."

Daisuke strained harder at his bonds, but there wasn't enough give for him to do anything and he sagged back down. At least he seemed to learn that much. Ken would take what he could get for now. The lessons would get harder as they progressed.

Ken moved over to the waiting chair, keyboard and monitors in front of it, and hit the appropriate sequence. Pale shimmers of light moved over Daisuke, and his eyes followed them, squinting in worry. He had nothing to fret over; they were only to acquire the kind of information that Ken needed to begin everything. Not that Ken bothered to explain this. He liked seeing Daisuke worried and afraid.

"What are you doing?" Daisuke tilted his head up in an attempt to watch his captor. Ken didn't even bother to look at him.

"Working." There was so much that he planned, and some of it would involve simply training Daisuke to be much more obedient than he was at the moment. _That_ would likely be even harder than _making_ him obedient in the first place. But one way or the other, before Daisuke left the fortress again, he would obey Ken's every command.

* * *

Daisuke leaned his head back against the cool metal of the table and stared up into the lights. They didn't hurt by any means, but he didn't know what they were doing to him, and that kept him on edge. Ken's lack of an ability to give him a straightforward answer didn't help there either. He didn't have a very good view of what the Kaiser was doing over there, no matter how much he wiggled. What he did have a good view of was Ken's back, and that wasn't interesting enough for him to keep looking at.

He managed to look around the room, and guessed that the Gotsumon that had dragged him in here had left once their job was done. That was like Ken; he only wanted you around once he had a use for you. If you weren't serving him, you weren't worth his attention.

The more he considered that, the less he liked it. Because that meant he had some use for Daisuke that might well be…

No. Daisuke ground his teeth and shook his head. It didn't matter what Ken wanted, this was something that he wasn't going to get. He'd find a way to get out of there. He didn't even want to think about the look on Jun's face if he turned up late! Didn't Ken understand what it was like to have an older sibling?

The room darkened slightly as the lights faded, and Daisuke looked up to see what was going on. Ken hadn't moved from where he sat, images flickering over the screens. Some of them seemed to look like people, or people-shaped things anyway. It was still hard for Daisuke to get a good look given his position.

He wiggled his feet a little, wondering if he could get them free. For a moment or two he fantasized about yanking them out of the restraints and slamming into Ken's head with all of his strength, running out of there and …well, he'd figure it out from there. He'd seen the fortress floating and knew how far above the ground they were. The idea of jumping to his doom didn't appeal at all. Maybe he could borrow an AirDramon? He still hadn't given up the notion of being able to knock one of those Rings or Spirals off himself, so maybe if he did, the Digimon would give him a lift?

It wasn't the worst plan he'd ever made in his life. If miracles happened, it might even have a chance of success. And right now, he didn't have anything better to do. So he started working at his bonds all over again. Ken was too busy staring at his screens to notice anything. He could do this. He could get away. It would just take time.

Now if Ken would just be kind enough to give him, that time.

Oh, yeah. Bad guy.

Not his day at all.

**To Be Continued**


	3. Activation

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 3: Activation  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,055||story: 6,549  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

One by one the Chosen Children and their partners drew back together again: or most of them did, anyway. Hikari glanced around, doing a quick headcount, and frowned.

"Where's Daisuke-kun? Isn't he back yet?"

Takeru frowned, thinking back. "I saw him when we all scattered. He was going that way." He gestured off to the left, hoping as he did that their erstwhile leader would tumble out of the bushes and grin at them all, full of tales of how he'd escaped danger by the skin of his teeth yet again.

Only Daisuke failed to do so, and as the minutes crept by, the tension inched higher.

Takeru pulled out his D-Terminal and checked for messages. Aside from a note to himself that his mother wanted him to bring home milk, there wasn't any sign of anything at all.

"We'd better start looking for him." Takeru held back a worried sigh. He'd seen the Kaiser in the area as the battle had begun, but once the attacks started flying and they'd all had to scatter to make certain they all made it out with everyone's body parts attached in the right places, he'd lost sight of him. That hadn't been so unusual, and Ken didn't always stick around until after a fight anyway. But with Daisuke now missing, the thought wormed its way into the front of his head and refused to vanish.

Miyako tapped a message on her own D-Terminal. "I bet he just got lost. He's probably trying to figure out which way is north right now."

Takeru hoped that was true. It would be a lot better than some of the other things he could imagine that might be happening to Daisuke right now.

* * *

Daisuke didn't know how long it had been since he'd been tied down to this table. Ken still worked on whatever it was he was doing, paying almost no attention to him whatsoever. Daisuke liked it that way; it gave him the chance to keep working on his bonds. He thought he'd started to make some progress. It was hard for him to tell, since his arms were pulled above his head to the point he couldn't really see them. But he tried anyway.

"I brought dinner." A quiet voice spoke up and Daisuke did his best to jump out of his skin. Being tied down made that harder than it sounded. He calmed down a heartbeat later when he realized it was Wormmon speaking.

"What are you waiting for, then?" Ken snapped, not even looking up from his work. Daisuke couldn't help but feel sorry for the little Digimon. He clearly deserved a kinder partner. "Feed it to him."

Wait, _what_? Daisuke lifted his head, trying to get a better look, and just managed to see a wheeled cart of some kind, with a tray of food on it. His stomach rumbled at the sight of it, and his throat burned even more than it had before when he saw a glass of water there.

He heard annoyed mutters and some kind of odd sound he couldn't place right away, not until he saw Wormmon wriggling up the side of the table. The small Digimon caught hold of the wheeled cart and pulled it closer.

"Hi there," he said, looking at Daisuke with the kindest blue eyes the human could remember seeing. "I'm supposed to feed you dinner."

Daisuke tilted his head a little. "It would be a lot easier on both of us if you untied me first." Maybe it would work.

"I'm sure it would." Ken spoke up without lifting his eyes from his efforts. "But you'd being fed so I don't have to worry about you being distracted later. You are not going to escape."

Well, it had been worth a shot. And an extra seasoning of 'what in the world is he up to' would just make dinner that much more enjoyable. Or something.

Wormmon was amazingly clever with his pods, bringing morsels of food over to Daisuke carefully and setting them on his lips. Daisuke ate as much as he could, kind of amazed at just how good the food actually was.

"Who made this?" He knew Ken couldn't have. Not only would the Digimon Kaiser not lower himself to that point, but he'd never left the room since they'd arrived in it.

"We have Veggimon in the kitchen," Wormmon said. "They take care of everything like that."

Daisuke frowned. "I bet they've got those Rings on, don't they?"

"Well, yes." Wormmon fidgeted, casting his eyes downward. "Ken doesn't trust anyone but me near him without one."

That got a roll of Daisuke's eyes. "If he were nicer about it, I bet he could."

"Why would I want to?" Ken stood up from his chair and took the three steps necessary to loom over Daisuke. He held something in his hands, something Daisuke couldn't clearly see in the dim light, but which made him shudder all the same, just from the vague shape that he _could_ see. "And it's time."

Daisuke swallowed. "Time for me to go home?" Ken could probably set him right out in his own room if he really wanted to. He wanted Ken to want that.

Ken, however, wanted something else altogether as he moved closer. "No. Time for my experiment."

"I told you before, I'm not going to help you with that." He knew he wasn't being given a choice, but he wanted to make it as clear as he could that Ken would only do this by violence.

Ken didn't seem bothered by that at all. Each footstep he took echoed like thunder against Daisuke's ears, and that shape in his hands became clearer and clearer.

"I think I will need to upgrade this eventually, but I'm going to start off with something smaller first. That's how a proper experiment is conducted, after all."

Daisuke swallowed again, hardly noticing when Wormmon wriggled off the table. All of his attention rested on Ken and what he held.

_Oh, no. He isn't doing this. This isn't going to work. It can't work._ He wasn't a Digimon. This couldn't work on him. There wasn't any way that it could. This was just _wrong_.

Regardless of what Daisuke thought, Ken unfastened one of the bonds holding Daisuke down, keeping a firm grip on his prisoner's arm as he did, and slid the Evil Ring he held up to Daisuke's upper arm. Then he tied Daisuke back down, as calmly as if this were no more an issue than changing a light bulb.

"Get that thing off me!" Daisuke shouted, shaking and straining himself as hard as he could. He wanted out of here even more now! But the leather straps only moved a little, and not enough for him to escape.

"No." Ken plucked his D-3 from wherever it was he kept it and turned it toward Daisuke, a strange light beginning to emit from it. "In fact, I'm tired of you talking at all. Don't say anything else unless I ask you a question or give you a command."

Daisuke started to open his mouth to say something in raw defiance. He didn't know what he would say, but just the fact he would say something at all would be more than enough.

The Ring on his arm pulsed in time with the light coming from Ken's D-3. And Daisuke's mouth and tongue froze. Not a single sound came out of him.

His stomach plummeted. His heart raced. He tried again to say something, to make any kind of sound at all, and his body simply refused to co operate. He breathed harder, frantic to disobey Ken's command, and completely unable to do so.

Ken smiled. Daisuke hated the sight of the smile and wished he could do something to wipe it off Ken's face. But his body didn't do anything except lay there and breathe.

"I think that's a good beginning. But I want more," Ken mused to himself. Daisuke did his best to heave upward, and his eyes widened in delight when he found he _could_ move, just a little!

Ken, however, frowned more. "Stop that. Don't move, except for breathing and blinking, unless you're told to by me."

And Daisuke's body obeyed, freezing precisely where it was. He wanted to think he would've kept on breathing even without Ken's order, but he didn't _know_, and that sent chills sweeping through him from head to foot.

Ken bent forward, taking a long look at him. Daisuke couldn't tell what was going on his head, halfway because it was hard enough to see the Kaiser's face behind those huge glasses, and halfway because even if he'd been psychic in the first place –which he wasn't-, he was too busy freaking out over not being able to move.

_Is this what all of those Digimon we fought felt like when they had their Rings on?_ Only Ken's command kept him from hyperventilating and he wasn't certain if that would hold him back that much longer.

Ken seemed to come to some kind of a decision, one that he carried out as he reached over and unfastened the bindings on Daisuke. Daisuke tried to move, and found that he still couldn't. Ken had given no orders to the contrary.

"Stand up," Ken said after several long quiet minutes. Daisuke wanted to jump to his feet and run for the door. What he actually did was stand up and face Ken.

_No, no, no, no!_ The litany ran through his mind furiously and he strained with every ounce of his power to do something that Ken didn't want him to do, no matter how small it might be. He'd settle for twitching a finger!

But instead, he remained just as he was, his body awaited his next order.

Ken's lips curved upward for a heartbeat. "Kneel."

Oh, he should've seen _that_ coming, after what had happened with Deltamon and the fake prisoners! And just like then, with the exception of his body doing it because of the Ring, he got down on his knees before Ken, staring at the steel gray floor beneath him.

He didn't know what Ken had in mind, and if he could've tensed when footsteps drew nearer, he would have. Instead, he had to wait, and couldn't jerk in surprise when Ken's gloved hands touched the top of his head.

"It works. It actually works." Ken chuckled, the chuckle fading into a long, loud, triumphant laugh worthy of some of the better villains. "You're going to do just as I tell you to do, aren't you?"

Daisuke found his lips moving. "Yes." He fought to say something else, and realized that he could. "But I'm not going to like it."

Ken gave him a long, measuring look, and Daisuke decided he was grateful that he couldn't shudder at that. It was bad enough Ken had this much control over him. He didn't want to let the other know how upset he really was by this.

"Perhaps you won't. But I don't care." That smile made Daisuke want to crawl right out of his skin. "And I can make certain that you do."

Oh, no. Daisuke's mental list of 'things I did not want to hear from the Digimon Kaiser' hit an all-time record. He strained even harder to fight against the control, but hitting a brick wall with his fist would've been more productive. More painful as well, since this didn't _hurt_ so much as it frustrated and enraged him, but he would've welcomed the pain.

"Follow me." Ken ordered, gesturing for him to stand up. Apparently his controlled body understood the motion, since Daisuke rose up to his feet and followed his captor through shadowy hallways, until they stood in a room with more screens and a chair in front of them.

Not just a chair, Daisuke realized, but a throne. This was as close to a throne room as the Digimon Kaiser gave himself. He would've loved the chance to look around and see what else he could find, but instead, he was gestured over to a place by the throne.

"Wait there. I have plans to make for you."

Yeah, Daisuke really didn't like the sound of that. _Come on, guys, where are you?_

**To Be Continued**


	4. Plan

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 4: Plan  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,136||story: 8,865  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

Ideas coursed their way through Ken's mind as he examined all the possibilities open to him now. He wasn't completely prepared to call the experiment a full success, not until he had his new possession fight against the Chosen Children without resisting him. That would be the biggest test of them all. So far, however, he was tentatively pleased.

He didn't have to look very far to see where Daisuke awaited his next command. He smiled a cruel smile; as much as he enjoyed seeing Digimon battle against one another at his command, this would be even more delicious: to see the Chosen fight against the one they called their leader.

It would likely be even more delicious than seeing him suffer trying to decide which one of them he could save, and this time there wouldn't be any hassles with deceptions being uncovered.

That was where part of this idea came from. One was the simple curiosity to see if his rings could function on humans while they were in the Digital World. Another was to extract even more revenge on Daisuke for the humiliation of that day. So far, he'd succeeded admirably there. The major problem of that day had been that Daisuke's friends had escaped their little holding area before he'd had a chance to complete everything he'd had in mind. That wouldn't happen this time.

Daisuke stood where he'd been ordered, fury still evident in his eyes, but unmoving and obedient. Ken had programmed this particular ring very carefully to make certain that his eyes didn't turn red the way the Digimon did. That was part of what had taken him so long to get this worked out; any kind of change in the programming had to be done with care to make certain everything still worked the way that he wanted it to. But he wanted to see Daisuke's reactions, to an extent. He wanted to know that the fierce fighter who had stood up against him was still in there, fully aware of what was going on and unable to stop any of it.

"Kneel down here," Ken ordered, pointing to a spot a little closer. Something dark and cold inside of him twisted and purred as Daisuke did so, the rage in his eyes mounting. His expression remained as blank as it had since the moment Ken activated the Ring, but that was quite all right. It served as a mark of Ken's mastery of the situation.

With Daisuke in touching range now, Ken rested one gloved hand on the other's head, while he continued to type with the other. This was more difficult, but given that it established another layer of dominance over Daisuke, he was willing to put up with it for a little while.

Now, he needed to work out the final details of his plan. He'd kept everything as fluid as he could until now, not wanting to get fixated on anything until he was certain it could work. _This will be their final hour._ After this, he could go on to establish his complete control over the entire Digital World, without anyone to stop him.

And it would all be brought about because of Daisuke. Ken couldn't possibly have been more proud of him. Or of himself.

* * *

"So, no one's picked up any trace of Daisuke since the fight got started," Takeru said. "And he's nowhere around here."

V-mon nodded, drooping some as he did. "I found his scent but it kind of faded out after he ran through a stream."

"Couldn't you pick it up on the other side?" Iori wondered, trying not to look as if he were as worried as he was.

"I tried, but I couldn't find it again. It's really weird. Nothing like this has ever happened before." V-mon fidgeted, far more worried about his partner than he'd ever been before.

Miyako paced up and down, eyes flashing bright with annoyance. "What kind of a game does he think he's playing?"

"I don't think this is Daisuke's game," Hikari said, hints of worry in her tone. "This has the Kaiser all over it."

Miyako stopped in her tracks and stared at the other. "What?"

"Look at it." Hikari waved one hand all around them. "We're attacked, and it's not just any attack, it's one designed so we have to separate from each other just to stay alive. How often does that happen?"

Quiet murmurs and worried looks agreed with her. It was one of Ken's tactics, but not one that he used very often when he brought his forces to bear on them. To see it done now didn't, _couldn't_ mean anything good. She continued.

"And then, Daisuke just _vanishes_, and Ken doesn't bother to stick around to see how the fight ends. I know he doesn't most of the time, but with Daisuke gone now, it just doesn't feel right."

"So you think he's chasing Daisuke around somewhere?" Iori offered. He didn't completely believe that. None of them did. Ken didn't bother to _chase_. He took what he wanted, when he wanted it.

"Let's hope that's all that he's doing." Takeru nodded as he spoke. Chasing was something they could handle. Chasing was something they could help with. The other options weren't so cheerful.

Miyako stomped one foot on the ground. "Then let's go find them and prove to that guy that he doesn't get to use us as playtoys!"

"Right!"

* * *

Daisuke wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not that he couldn't scream himself raw at the moment. He wanted to and it would've been an incredible release to do so. But on the other hand, that would have meant he had a raw throat and Ken wasn't being as generous with the food and water as he'd been before.

Just the touch of Ken's hand on his head was enough to make him want to howl. It was bad enough the Kaiser had ordered him to _kneel_, like he was some kind of a slave, but then to _pet him_?

Yeah, the moment he got the chance, he was punching Ken's face in so hard that it would turn inside out.

He'd already made half a dozen plans on how to get Ken back for this. He didn't know which one of them he would pick just yet, but he'd do one of them, and Ken wouldn't ever want to do this to any of them ever again!

Ken's hand moved through his hair a little more and Daisuke had never wanted to do anything so much as he wanted to snap and bite at him, not caring if Ken would bother with any tamed beast taunts or not. He wanted that hand off him!

"It's almost time for you to meet your friends again, Daisuke."

What? Oh, no. He did _not_ want to see them, not while he still had this _thing_ on him, not while Ken still pulled his strings!

But none of that could make it past his lips and for all that he strained to get up and run away, his body remained just where it was, waiting for Ken's next order.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to have you kill them." Ken chuckled at that, as if it were some kind of sick joke only he'd find funny. "I'm going to reserve that pleasure all for myself."

Oh, like that made it any better. Daisuke would've ground his teeth if he could. He still didn't like the idea that the others would see him like this.

Though perhaps that wouldn't be such a bad thing. They could break the Ring and get him out of this. It would be embarrassing, but nothing he couldn't deal with. They'd all saved each other before, this wouldn't be anything too new.

"Now, I have a few orders for you before we leave." Ken's hand left Daisuke's head and motioned abruptly in a way that the ring seemed to understand, since Daisuke found himself standing up and turning to face the Kaiser. "And you're going to carry them out perfectly."

Of course he would, Daisuke mentally groaned. It wasn't as if the Ring would give him any options on that.

* * *

The Digital World's sun dropped closer and closer to the horizon, but the Chosen still searched around in increasingly vain attempts to locate Daisuke. Messages had been sent home to cover for them, which was easier for some than others.

"Is there any reason we can't tell our families about the Digital World?" Iori wanted to know. He didn't want to give up searching, but he knew he would have to go home soon. Dinner called, and homework. The thought of leaving Daisuke in the Digital World overnight didn't sit well with him, but if they couldn't find him, what else could they do?

"Well, my mom and dad kind of know about it," Takeru admitted. "We don't talk about it, but they found out about Digimon during the attack a few years ago."

Iori and Miyako exchanged a quick look, aching to know more about this. The chance to ask didn't come, however, as there was a sudden unexpected call from a short distance away.

"Hey, guys!"

Everyone stared. Miyako took a step forward, jaw open to say something, but none of it actually making its way out of her mouth.

Daisuke blinked a few times as he looked from one of them to the other. "What? Something wrong?"

"Where have you been?" Hikari managed to ask, trying to wave Miyako off from where she looked about ready to jump over and strangle him on the spot. "We thought maybe the Kaiser…"

Daisuke waved one hand, the other going to the back of his head as he laughed. "Nah, I just got a little lost. It took a while for me to find my way back here, that's all."

"Well, if that's all it was, then I really need to get going home." Iori said, not quite taking his eyes off Daisuke. This felt just a little off. A little too convenient.

"You can't go just yet. I found something you should really have a look at it," Daisuke said, beckoning toward them. "It's out of this world."

"Whatever it is, can't it wait?" Miyako folded her arms over her chest and gave Daisuke one of her best glares. "Cause I need to go get dinner, and if it's still going to be here tomorrow, then I'm _going_."

"It can't wait. It might not be here tomorrow." Daisuke beckoned again. "Trust me, this is nothing you guys have ever seen before. I've never seen it before."

"If you haven't, then how do you know we have or not?" Miyako grumped, but started to move forward. "This better be really good. If I miss dinner and it's not, you're going to make up for it. You're going to buy all of this week's snack at our store, from your money."

"It's a deal!" Daisuke moved on ahead of them, not moving so fast that they couldn't keep up, but not dawdling, either. V-mon hurried to catch up to him, tugging at his hand with one paw.

Or he tried to; the moment that his hand touched Daisuke's, V-mon pulled it back with a startled noise.

"V-mon?" Daisuke looked down at him, confusion writ large in his eyes. "Everything all right?"

"I…I think so." V-mon stared at his paw, then back up at his partner. "It was like some kind of weird spark or something. Never felt anything like that." He shook his paw a little. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" Daisuke shrugged, then gestured ahead of him to a grove of trees that looked vaguely, but not entirely unlike, oaks. "It's in there! There's a little clearing on the other side."

Everyone hurried up, eager to see whatever it was that Daisuke had to show them, and then to get out of there and go home. Takeru still lingered in the back of the group, and Hikari cast a glance back at him.

"Something wrong?"

"I don't know. He says everything's all right, but I just don't trust it," Takeru said. "I probably shouldn't worry so much, should I?" His tone suggested that he wanted Hikari to tell him that he shouldn't. That he was making too much out of this.

Instead, she watched where Daisuke headed with a thoughtful frown. "I don't know. But it wouldn't hurt to be careful. Remember what the Kaiser did with those Bakemon."

Takeru would never forget that. Seeing himself hanging all tied up like that… "Come on, let's catch up." If this were one of Ken's tricks, they could fight it best by all of them being together.

**To Be Continued**


	5. Exposure

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 5: Exposure  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,168||story: 11,033  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

Something was wrong with Daisuke. V-mon could tell. He wasn't sure what it was, but his partner didn't act like himself at all, and hadn't since he turned back up from wherever he'd been. He hadn't missed what the humans figured, that the Kaiser was somehow responsible for Daisuke's disappearance. And he'd been gone for _hours_ and _hours_.

Well, probably not quite that long, but long enough for the Kaiser to have done something. V-mon couldn't stop himself from shivering when he thought about having to step on his partner that horrible day. It had been weeks, but he _still_ woke up at times in the night, shaking in terror.

He looked down at his paw as they moved through the trees to the clearing Daisuke wanted to take them to. He'd never felt anything like that before when he'd touched Daisuke's hand. It almost reminded him of what it felt like to attack a Digimon who had an Evil Ring or Spiral on. A sudden sharpness, one that put him on edge, to know that such a horrible thing was so close to him.

_Maybe he's a Bakemon in disguise?_ It wouldn't be the first time that the Kaiser pulled a nasty trick like that on them. Which could mean that either the real Daisuke would come running up at any time or that he had the real Daisuke prisoner somewhere else.

Either way, V-mon didn't like it. He didn't know who to bring this up to; Daisuke, real or otherwise, was too close, and they were almost to where he wanted to go anyway. So they might not have the time to get this sorted out.

"All right, are we there yet?" Miyako grouched as they crossed through the trees and to the clearing. "Seriously, I want to go get dinner! Don't want to stay around here all day."

"You're not going to have to worry about that," Daisuke said, a strange sort of edge to his tone. "Not anymore."

Everyone froze. No one liked the sound of his voice, V-mon least of all. He shifted nervously and looked around at the others. "Guys, I think…"

"Whatever it is, you're wrong. Unless you think that you're in a lot of trouble." The Digimon Kaiser's voice cracked through the clearing, and a host of red-eyes, be-ringed and be-spiralled Digimon sprang up all around them. "Because you _are_ in a lot of trouble."

The Chosen Children and their partners pressed close together, with the exception of Daisuke. V-mon caught a glimpse of his face, and his heart sank down to see how blank the other was. As if he were some kind of a robot and his on-button had been clicked off.

"Daisuke!" Miyako grabbed for the nearest stray branch and waved it at him in dire threat. "What do you think you're doing? This isn't some kind of a game!"

"I beg to differ. This is a game, and since I've captured one of your best players, it's a game that I'm going to win." The Kaiser's voice came from above, and now they saw him, standing on top of an AirDramon's head.

"What are you talking about, captured?" Takeru shouted, his D-3 in his hand and Patamon still seated on his head, ready to evolve at a moment's notice. None of them wanted to believe a word Ken said. He had to be talking about Daisuke, but Daisuke wasn't a prisoner, he was right there. Something didn't add up.

Unfortunately, Ken was very good at addition, division, and subtraction, among other things.

"Come here, Daisuke."

The AirDramon lowered himself to the ground even as Ken spoke, and without a moment's hesitation, Daisuke came over to Ken. At a gesture, he slipped down to his knees in front of the Kaiser, and unlike the time they all remembered, he showed not a breath of reluctance or anger. Truth to be told, he didn't look happy about this, either. He looked…blank was the only word that came to Takeru's mind, and blank wasn't a word that anyone associated with Daisuke, unless they were trying to say what he wasn't.

"What did you do to him?" Takeru didn't entirely howl the word but he wanted to. Ken had done _something_, that was obvious. The question was what, and how could they fix it, and preferably make it blow up in Ken's face to the point he'd never want to try this again.

Ken reached down to trace his fingers through Daisuke's hair. One and all the Chosen and their partners learned a new definition of nauseating, especially V-mon. To see his partner having to submit to that touch was even _worse_ than having stepped on him!

"I don't think that really matters to you. What does matter is how you're going to defeat all of my Digimon when you aren't at your full strength and it would take me approximately thirty seconds to have V-mon as my slave as well."

V-mon yelped, hands clenching quickly into fists. "No you won't!" He wouldn't _ever_ work for the Kaiser, not even if there were a thousand Evil Rings and Spirals on him!

"I wouldn't be so certain of that if I were you." Ken tightened his grip on Daisuke's hair, but the Chosen didn't so much as flinch. "What would you do for me if I told you that if you _didn't_ do as I say, then your precious Daisuke here paid the price for it?"

V-mon faded from blue to gray in a single breath. "You wouldn't…"

"Perhaps I would, perhaps I wouldn't." Ken shrugged, lightening his touch a trifle. "But the point is that I could. And right now, I _don't_ want you to do anything at all. Do you understand?"

V-mon opened his mouth, then closed it again, miserable. He saw what the Kaiser meant right away. The others could fight, would fight. But he couldn't. He wasn't sure what good he could do without Daisuke anyway, and Daisuke clearly wasn't going to be going up against the Kaiser in this fight, even if he couldn't figure out why.

` "Don't worry about it, V-mon!" Iori declared, taking a step forward.

Miyako nodded, her own D-3 out now, and Hawkmon flapping beside her. "We can handle this! No problem!"

"I think you're going to have quite a few more problems than you think. But go ahead." Ken waved one hand as if granting permission, either for them to do battle or for his enslaved army to attack. Whichever one he meant, the Chosen took the opportunity to evolve their partners. In the space of six heartbeats, Pegasumon, Nefertimon, Digmon, and Holsmon hovered near their partners.

"You try to see if you can find out what's going on with Daisuke," Takeru ordered, looking toward V-mon. "We'll take care of these guys!"

Waiting no longer, they all charged into battle, striking at the Evil Rings and Spirals as best that they could. It wasn't easy; once their new war had begun, the Kaiser made a point of ordering his minions to avoid situations where their Rings or Spirals could be easily removed. Thus why they had to fight to make certain the enslaved Digimon would hold still long enough for the control devices to shatter.

V-mon's attention flickered back and forth between the two situations. As much as he wanted to pull Daisuke away from the Kaiser and join in the fight, it wasn't going to do any good if he didn't know what was going on. Was the Kaiser blackmailing Daisuke somehow?

"Daisuke," he murmured, shifting a little closer. The other didn't even look up, all of his attention focused on Ken, even as his gaze remained on the ground.

"He's not going to pay any attention to you," the Kaiser told him, not even bothering to look away from where his minions fought the Chosen Children. So far not a single Ring or Spiral had been removed, but the battle was still young. V-mon knew his friends would win in the end; they always did.

He would've felt much better about it if he'd been able to help them fight.

"Why not?" V-mon stared harder at Daisuke, looking for any sign that this wasn't his actual partner. Everything looked the same. It even smelled the same. He hadn't been able to smell the Digimon that disguised themselves as the other Chosen that one time because he hadn't been close enough to them, and the wind had been in the wrong quarter anyway. But now he was close enough to Daisuke, and had been close enough before, and the wind was in his favor.

And everything that he smelled and heard and saw told him that this _was_ his partner. Which made everything make absolutely no sense whatsoever.

"Because I don't want him to, and he'll do anything and everything that I tell him to." Ken's smile sliced across his lips, a blaze of pride and triumph. "I much prefer him like this than he was before. Don't you, V-mon?"

"Of course not!" V-mon shook his head and dared another step closer. "Why would I want him to listen to you?"

"Because he's much quieter like this. He listens to someone who knows better than he does and he's not so much of a thorn in my side." Ken's lip curled in contempt. "I don't think I'll ever give him back. He's much more _useful_ like this as well."

"I don't like what you're using him for!" V-mon shouted, hoping to get some kind of a reaction out of Daisuke. No matter what he said, though, his partner remained a kneeling silent statue at the Digimon Kaiser's feet.

"I don't care what you like. And stay back from him or you'll get hurt." The Kaiser didn't sound as if he were warning V-mon in the interests of sparing him pain, but telling him simply what would happen regardless. V-mon didn't like it. He didn't think he'd liked a single thing happening this day since that first attack when they'd lost track of Daisuke.

He had to do something. He couldn't just stand here and let Ken get away with everything. The other Chosen had moved onward some, keeping an eye on their partners while they battled. One or two of the Rings and Spirals had been broken, but since Ken's army included roughly thirty Tyrannomon and a half dozen or more other types, that was little more than a drop in the proverbial bucket.

He had to help, that was what he had to do. He had to help end this fight, and the only way he could do that was to tackle Daisuke and snap him out of whatever spell the Kaiser had put him under.

V-mon bunched himself up. He hoped Daisuke would forgive him after all of this. He probably would; Daisuke was a forgiving soul. He'd probably even forgive the Kaiser for this.

He didn't let himself think about it for more than a few seconds. Instead, he charged forward, head aimed directly at Daisuke's midsection.

_If this goes really wrong, I hope he throws up on the Kaiser and not me._

That was the last thought that V-mon gave himself time for before he plowed directly into Daisuke. The captive human rolled over, with more reaction coming from the Kaiser than from him, in the form of a furious shout.

"What do you think you're doing? You don't harm other people's property, especially not _my_ property!

V-mon settled back on his feet and ignored the shouting human in favor or Daisuke, who slowly sat back up. "Daisuke? Are you…are you you again?" He didn't know what else to ask. He could see he'd torn the other's shirt, and really hoped that would fix itself somehow. Whatever Daisuke wore on Earth always changed itself into his Digital World clothes, so probably it would. Somehow.

He also knew he was distracting himself, trying not to think of how the blank look in Daisuke's eyes hadn't changed, not even as he got to his feet.

"Daisuke!" The Kaiser's voice cracked with command. "Come over here right now."

V-mon wished with every scrap of his soul that Daisuke would do something else. Anything else. That even if he came over to the Kaiser, he would shove him over or shout against him or anything to show that he wasn't a prisoner anymore.

Instead, Daisuke came quietly over and dropped back to his knees, head bent as reverently as it had before. Ken rested his hand on Daisuke's head, a smug smirk now on his lips.

"See? Nothing you can do can take him away from his master."

V-mon's heart sank, but not just from Ken's words. He did indeed see, and thought he saw more than the Kaiser wanted him to. Because now, through Daisuke's torn shirt, he saw a sight he had never seen on a human, and never knew could happen.

Daisuke wore an Evil Ring.

**To Be Continued**


	6. Attempt

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 6: Attempt  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,189||story: 13,222  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

Takeru gripped Pegasumon's mane in an attempt to think more about this battle than about Ken and Daisuke and V-mon. He wanted to plow his fist directly into Ken's face and make him undo whatever it was he'd done to Daisuke in the first place. Rage simmered through his veins, awaiting just the right moment to burst forth, but he fought to hold it back. He wasn't doing a very good job of it, but he made the attempt.

For now, he channeled it through the fight. "Think you can get those?" He jerked one hand toward a small collection of Tyrannomon only a short distance way. Flying gave them a better shot in this fight; their real problem was how outnumbered they were. Takeru shuddered to think of how this fight could've gone under other circumstances, such as a blind canyon.

Pegasumon steadied himself in the air, focusing on the leader of the Tyrannomon pack. "Let's find out!"

Emerald green energy gathered at the triangle on his helmet, then shot forward at the winged stallion's command of "Silver Blaze!" The attack struck the leader's Evil Ring, which shattered under the pressure.

"All right!" Takeru pumped one fist in delight. "One down, a lot more to go!" And the sooner they got onto this, the better. He wanted to find out what V-mon had learned about what was going on with Daisuke.

He did spare a glance downward as Pegasumon began to strike more and more of the enemy Digimon, each attack destroying a Ring when it hit. He didn't know if Ken made them weaker these days or if their Digimon were stronger now, since it hadn't been like this when they'd first started this war.

He could see that Daisuke still knelt by Ken, which didn't make Takeru any happier about any of this, and V-mon stared at them, frozen in shock.

_What happened?_ That one question continued to ring through his mind. He wanted to jump down and find out, but someone had to watch Pegasumon's back, and everyone else was too busy with their own fights to do this for him.

That was probably why Ken had designed this attack in the first place. That, and to show off whatever he'd done to Daisuke. Keeping them occupied gave him a chance to gloat and maybe even take one or two of them out if everything went wrong for them.

_Well, that's not going to happen._ He wouldn't let it happen. He'd charge down onto Ken and take _him_ out personally if he had to. Not that the idea hadn't occurred to him before, but the Kaiser very seldom faced them in battle these days, and even more seldom let himself get close enough for an attack.

He'd done it now, though, and Takeru decided in the depths of his heart that he was going to make Ken regret it. Every bit as much as he would regret capturing Daisuke and doing whatever it was he's done to him.

"Takeru!" Only weeks of practice kept him on Pegasumon's back as one of the still-Ringed Tyrannomon shot a Fire Breath toward them. The blond caught his breath as best he could; he needed to focus on his current fight, not the one he planned to have later. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Takeru said, readjusting his grip on Pegasumon's mane. Some days he wondered which of them worried about the other more. "I think we need to finish these guys up and go see what everyone else is doing."

The idea of not rushing to help Daisuke at once grated at him, but for now, Daisuke wasn't in danger of being killed. Ken wouldn't want to lose his new toy.

Just thinking those words sent another jolt of fury through him, and Takeru never could figure out how he fought it down. Maybe he didn't. Maybe he just shifted it yet again to something else.

_He'll use Daisuke as a hostage if it's just one of us. If we have more, then we can distract him, get Daisuke away from him._ He wasn't sure of how good of a plan it was, but it would do until they could come up with something better.

Going off half-cocked into this wouldn't do anyone any good, really. He had to think clearly. They'd never really set up a command structure, but there was a sort of understanding among them all that if anything happened to Daisuke, then he would take charge. They'd never once thought something would actually happen so he _would_ have to.

With that lurking in the back of his mind, Takeru focused on the actual battle. Swoops and dives and blasts, dodging out of the way of attacks sent back to him, and every so often catching a glimpse of what seemed to be a kind of stand-off between the Kaiser and V-mon, just enough to make him wonder what was going on and not enough to give him any real answers…

"You take that off of him!" V-mon's voice cracked through the air, drawing attention from all over the battlefield. "You take that off him right now!"

The Kaiser laughed, pitched lower but as audible as the Digimon's demand. "Why would I do that? I told you already that I like him much better the way that he is now. He's not going to get in the way of my plans anymore. Maybe I'll even set you all up with them. I don't really need the help, but it would get you of my hair."

Takeru scanned the area; so far as he could tell, everyone had finished mopping up their opponents. Ken had provided numbers instead of sheer strength this time, and he didn't think anyone here didn't look in need of at least two good meals and a weekend of deep sleep, including himself.

And they still needed to get Daisuke back.

That wouldn't happen if they didn't keep going, though. Maybe he'd treat himself and Patamon to three good meals after this. His mom would happily provide the meals. She didn't like to talk about the Digimon, but she never let Patamon go hungry, either.

Slowly the small group gathered behind V-mon. Takeru didn't have to wait to find out what was going on; the small blue Digimon scurried right over to him as soon as he slipped off.

"Takeru! An Evil Ring! On Daisuke!" V-mon's paws flapped in Daisuke's direction and Takeru followed the motion. He hadn't entirely processed what V-mon said, but it all snapped into place when he saw the ring of black around Daisuke's arm.

Shadows filled his mind in a heartbeat. It wasn't Daisuke he saw before them, held to someone else's will by the power of evil. It was Leomon, filled to the brim with Devimon's Black Gears, skin and fur rippling in shades of gray, an angry roar on his lips as he fought and failed against the power holding him.

"Takeru! Takeru!" Miyako shook his arm and he blinked, trying to shake the image away. He knew it was little more than a memory, but getting his head and his heart to agree wasn't easy. "Are you all right?"

He drew in a breath, keeping his eyes turned to his friends and away from the nightmare in front of him. "Yeah. I'm fine."

He didn't like the look Pegasumon was giving him, and Hikari and Iori didn't look as if they entirely trusted his words, either. He didn't think he was that surprised. But more important matters called for their attention.

Takeru's shoulders tensed as he turned toward Ken and his prisoner. Daisuke hadn't moved, still on his knees by Ken, eyes cast downward. Now that he knew what was going on, Takeru's stomach churned even more at the sight. This was so against everything Daisuke was, fire and flash and fury, that he couldn't bring himself to think of the motionless boy _as_ Daisuke.

"What do you want to let him go?" Takeru didn't intend to give it, whatever it was, but he asked, just to buy time for them to figure out a better way.

Ken's gloved hands moved more through Daisuke's hair, and Takeru hissed between his teeth. He hoped that Daisuke wasn't aware of what was going on. He didn't want to think of the other trapped in his own skin, unable to do anything, and feeling the Kaiser's hands on him.

"What makes you think I want to let him go? Or that you have anything that I want? I could tell you to stop fighting me, but what would be the fun in that? I'm not going to win this game because you quit."

Miyako took three quick steps forward, stopping only when Ken's fingers tightened in Daisuke's hair in clear warning. "This isn't a game!"

"It is for me," Ken said. He tugged on Daisuke's hair and the other stood up. "And I would say that right now, I'm winning. Do you really think there's any way that you can stop me now?"

_The D-3s?_ Perhaps it was the memory of Leomon that brought the thought to mind, but Takeru's fist tightened around his own. They'd worked against the Black Gears. They'd never tried them on Ken's Rings and Spirals before.

"If we did, do you think we'd tell you?" Iori asked, a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. "That wouldn't be very good strategy, would it?"

The expression Ken's lips twisted into wasn't exactly a smile, but it tried to look like one nevertheless. "Perhaps not. But whatever you try, you can't win."

"We won't know until we try," Hikari said. "And we're going to try no matter what!"

Takeru didn't bother with saying anything else. More words would just give Ken a chance to get away with Daisuke. He didn't know if this would work, and he didn't care. He had to try. They didn't have any other options, and letting Ken get away with Daisuke wasn't on his list of what to do with his evening.

He jerked his D-3 out of his pocket and concentrated with every ounce of strength within himself. _Help him! Break the Ring!_

Emerald green light glimmered deep within the D-3, then blasted forward, slamming directly into Daisuke, knocking him back from Ken. The Kaiser snarled something Takeru chose not to listen to very clearly, reaching out toward his prisoner at the same time.

"What do you think you're doing?" He spared a quick glance for Takeru before he started after Daisuke again.

"I want to know the same thing!" Miyako declared, gaze moving quickly between Daisuke and Takeru. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to help him!" Takeru had to keep as much focus as he could on the D-3, pouring all of his energy into it. Daisuke didn't even try to move, though Takeru couldn't be certain if that was because he didn't want to or because he couldn't without Ken's orders.

The Kaiser's hand gripped down firmly on Daisuke's shoulder and pulled him away from the beam. Takeru stumbled back as the connection was broken, breathing hard. Whatever happened, he knew that he'd done his best. It was all up to Daisuke now.

One of Daisuke's hands flew up to grip around Ken's wrist, trying to shove it away. Takeru's heart lodged in his throat. Had he done it? Really?

"Daisuke." Ken's growl rumbled deep in his throat. "What do you think you're doing?"

Daisuke said nothing at all in response as he started to push himself to his feet, legs trembling and unsteady. The Ring on his arm cracked without warning, and emotion flooded back into Daisuke's features, a mixture of relief and revulsion.

"How _dare_ you!" Ken jerked his head around to glare furiously at Takeru. "You'll pay for this!"

"Do you take checks? I'm a little short on cash at the moment." Takeru could not help the smirk that flashed over his lips. It was almost over. They just had to get Daisuke away from Ken completely, and they could go home.

"Takeru…" Daisuke shuddered, shaking his head, and started to take a step away. He couldn't entirely make it before his legs crumpled underneath him and his eyes closed.

Everyone started to move, but none of them were close enough to stop Ken before he snatched Daisuke back into his grasp and leaped for the AirDramon still resting on the ground not that far away.

"I don't give up my prizes that easily. And now that I know your little toys can do that, I've got some adjustments to make. Don't expect to ever see him on _your_ side again," Ken gloated, holding Daisuke close in a grip that the other couldn't have broken even if he'd been awake. He stomped one foot on the AirDramon, sending it rising into the air.

Scarcely a breath passed before Takeru, Hikari, and Miyako dashed after him, Pegasumon, Nefertimon, and Holsemon soaring through the air as quickly as they could. Iori stayed with V-mon, worried eyes following the others as they vanished out of sight.

**To Be Continued**


	7. Escape

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 8: Escape  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,266||story: 15,488  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

"Master, they're following us."

Ken snarled at Wormmon's report; couldn't these idiots realize that they'd lost? He still had Daisuke and there wasn't anything that they could do to change that. Yet they failed, as they always did, to realize that they were outmatched and outthought in every possible way. What did he have to do to convince them of that?

Whatever it was, the moment he figured out what it was, he would do it. How could he conquer the Digital World if they kept on bothering him? Didn't they realize how important this was?

The Kaiser drew in a sharp breath of air and snapped out his orders. "Have the AirDramon, GigaDramon, and MegaDramon keep them away from us until we're out of sight."

He didn't want his enemies finding out his base's true nature. That was part of how he stayed ahead of them; they couldn't try to sneak into it while he was away from it, which meant he always had a secure base to plan from.

It was only fair; he didn't know anything but the most base facts about them. He _could_ learn more, especially now that he had Daisuke under his thumb, but the idea didn't appeal to him. He didn't _want_ to know what they were like when they weren't in the Digital World. He didn't _care_ about them when they weren't fighting him. If he could pass them on the street still, he would ignore them.

His airborne troops zoomed past him, intent on battling the Chosen until either their Rings and Spirals were broken or they defeated their master's enemies. Ken allowed himself a small smile at the thought. No matter what happened he would still win. If their Rings and Spirals were broken, he could simply come along later and reapply them. If his enemies were defeated...well, that said enough all by itself. Really, this whole situation was a complete win for him, and all that remained was for those enemies to actually wise up and realize it.

He turned his attention to the unconscious brunet in his arms, frowning as he did. What in the world had the blond done that made the Ring crack in the first place?

_I've never seen anything like that before._ He glanced at his own D-3. _I'll test Daisuke's and see what I can find out from that._ He'd already looked once before to determine if his towers could block Armor Evolution the way they did ordinary evolution, but to no avail. He supposed that was to be expected; it made everything just that little bit more challenging.

But now he had to find out if there was a way the D-3s could be stopped from breaking his other tools as well. It was annoying enough that they broke them in battle. If all his enemies needed to do was wave their devices at his troops, then this war could get very annoying very quickly.

As for Daisuke himself...it would be back on the table until he had a fresh plan of attack decided upon. He did like the idea of keeping the boy locked up somewhere, but not where he couldn't keep an eye on him. He'd made that mistake with Agumon. The Digimon Kaiser didn't repeat his errors.

* * *

Daisuke wasn't certain of when he started to come around again. His head swam and wind rushed past his ears, and the combination of that didn't make him want to open his eyes any time soon. He'd never been airsick before and he didn't think now would be a good time to break his record. Though if he could get some of it on Ken, it would be _totally_ worth it.

He could tell without opening his eyes that he was still Ken's prisoner, as much as he hoped otherwise. No one else he knew had the same kind of powerful grip or the armored gloves that Ken wore. He could also hear Wormmon talking, and as much as he liked the little bug, he knew if Wormmon were around, then Ken was around.

Slowly he began to piece together what had happened. They'd been with the rest of his friends. As much as he'd wanted to, he hadn't been able to do _anything_ that Ken didn't tell him to, and if he'd been able to scream, he would've howled himself hoarse because of that.

Ken wanted him to watch them all die, completely unable to stop it. He still wasn't sure of how it hadn't happened, except that the others could still fight hard even without him. He wanted to smile at that. If he hadn't been so tired, he would have.

But he was that tired, and he had to wonder if it was because of all the failed fighting he'd done while the Ring was on him.

_Wonder if I get to have a nap before Ken starts trying to play mad scientist again._ Somehow, he didn't think Ken would be all that appreciative of his prisoner's desire to close his eyes and snatch about forty winks. It didn't fit his ego.

Well, tough. Daisuke followed school rules only when he absolutely had to; there was no way he wasn't going to go out of his way to avoid the rules of someone he _really_ didn't like, and Ken topped the list of people he _really_ didn't like.

Ken was going to put another Ring on him; Daisuke didn't doubt that at all. He was no rocket scientist himself, but what other reason could there be for still keeping him instead of just flouncing off in a huff the minute his prisoner was free? So, yeah, there were going to be a lot worse times to come. And grabbing a nap sounded like a really good way to deal with them for now.

Besides, what else could he do? He wasn't even sure if he could stand up on his own two feet just yet. From the moment the Ring had cracked, every ounce of his strength just faded out of him. He hadn't ever noticed any Digimon who reacted like that, so maybe it was a human thing?

_Maybe I should go ask some human about it. Oh, wait, I'm the only one this has ever happened to. Crud._

He was going to get Ken for this, somehow, one of these days. He didn't know how, he didn't know when, but it would happen. Maybe he'd run him around a soccer field a few more times, only this time, he, Daisuke, would be the one winning.

That sound like an awesome way to spend some time anyway. If Ken ever learned not to be such a jerk, it would be even better.

Yeah, like that would ever happen.

* * *

"Faster!" Takeru kept his grip on Pegasumon's mane and remained crouched over his partner's withers. Part of his mind hoped that his hat wouldn't blow off into the slipstream, but only the smallest part, the part that could still concern itself with such meaningless matters.

The rest of his mind focused on how close they were to catching up to Ken, which was clearly not close enough at all. They had to get there before Ken made it to his lair, wherever _that_ was.

Maybe this would help them find that out. Takeru knew never to give up hope, but they'd never been able to track the Kaiser down when he returned to his base. That put several cramps in their ability to do anything permanent about him. Takeru kind of expected that even if they did find it, it would be defended by every kind of Digimon that the Kaiser had under his control and it would probably take days, if not weeks, to find a way to break through it all.

Hikari and Nefertimon, along with Miyako and Holsmon, zipped along the skies with him. All of them still needed food and rest but Takeru couldn't give up without at least _trying_ to get Daisuke back. They'd broken the Ring, so that much at least they had on ther side. Now they just had to get him away from Ken's clutches and whatever else the Kaiser had planned.

"AirDramon!" Hikari shouted, pointing ahead of them. The one Ken flew on could still be seen, but not quite as well, as the air fleet surged toward them. Not just AirDramon but GigaDramon and MegaDramon as well coasted along. Ken's air force clearly wasn't going to let them catch up. "We have to keep going!" Takeru knew it wasn't going to work even as the words fell from his lips. The AirDramon, GigaDramon, and MegaDramon wouldn't allow it. The fleet drove right in the center of them, sending the three Digimon swirling up, down, and to the side, their partners just managing to hang on by the skin of their teeth.

Takeru lifted his head, trying to get a glimpse of the Kaiser, but already that particular AirDramon was out of sight. He didn't have the time to say what he wanted to about that, since before the words could form, a GigaDramon blasted toward him, teeth and fire and flame and muscles bigger than Takeru himself was, and he and Pegasumon had more than enough issues keeping themselves alive.

The blond kept a firm grip on Pegasumon's mane, ducking here and there to keep from getting blasted by their opponent's attacks, while Pegasumon fought back, sending stream after stream of Silver Blazes and Needle Rains, none of which hit the actual Spiral controlling this Digimon. There wasn't any way they could co ordinate with Hikari and Nefertimon for a Sanctuary Bind, either, not with two AirDramon on her tail.

Today just wasn't going well for any of them. Takeru could not help but wish there were some way to restart it and try it again, this time without the Kaiser and Rings on Daisuke and whatever else their enemy had in mind.

* * *

Once again, Ken had Daisuke dragged through the corridors by his very convenient Gotsumon. They might have even been the same ones who did it before; they all looked alike to Ken, and it wasn't as if they had individual names anyway. Or like he would've cared if they did. They existed to carry out his orders, and that meant taking Daisuke back to the lab.

The other boy was just starting to reach a point where he could talk again, which didn't make Ken any happier with the situation at all. He much preferred Daisuke when he was quiet and obedient. The little taste of that he'd gotten whetted his appetite for more. He didn't think he'd ever want to give it up now that he'd sampled how pleasant it could be to have a convenient hand-rest and obedient slave in the person of his supposed enemy.

"Keep your mouth shut, unless you want me to gag you," Ken snapped as Daisuke started to open his mouth, most likely to say something about how he was being strapped down to the table again. He was a decoration, a piece of furniture, a useful tool for Ken. None of those positions involved talking, and soon enough Ken determined to make certain he had Daisuke back in that position, never to leave it again.

The look Daisuke sent was clearly not one of decoration, furniture, or a tool, so Ken ignored it in favor of pulling out the other's D-3 and taking a very long look at it.

"Hey! That's mine!" Daisuke strained harder at the bonds holding him onto the table. They were of Ken's construction, however, and held him down firmly but with just enough give so that he wouldn't hurt himself.

"I'm well aware of that." Ken didn't lift his eyes from the blue device, wondering if he had a screwdriver anywhere around his fortress. Though on the other hand, perhaps some scans from his various monitors would prove more effective than cracking it open. He hadn't spent as much time as he would've wanted exploring the programs contained within the last time he'd had it in his hands. Now seemed a good time to fix that oversight.

"So put it down! Give it back!" Daisuke still fought, no matter how obvious it was that he wasn't going to get away. He'd likely fought the whole time he'd had the Ring on, which probably had helped with its destruction. Ken made a note to look into that.

For now, however, he glanced up toward Daisuke, one corner of his mouth turned downward. "If it belongs to you, then it belongs to me. Because _you_ belong to me. Or do I need to remind you of that?"

He didn't wait for an answer, but reached behind himself to turn on a monitor, replaying selected scenes from the last few hours. Another couple of taps on the keyboard ensured that Daisuke had a perfect view of the chosen monitor, and he already knew the other couldn't leave the room to escape the evidence. He could try closing his eyes, but that wouldn't change the satisfying reality revealed in the images.

Besides, glaring at the recordings would likely keep Daisuke quiet while Ken did his work, which was exactly what Ken wanted in the first place. There had to be some kind of an answer to what the blond member of the team had done to create that beam of light that broke the Ring, and the Digimon Kaiser wasn't going to rest until he knew what it was and how to stop it.

**To Be Continued**


	8. Memories

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
**Fandom:** Digimon Adventure 02  
**Title:** Captive: Chapter 8: Memories  
**Characters:** Ken, Daisuke  
**Word Count:** chapter: 2,045||story: 17,533  
**Genre:** Drama, Friendship||**Rated:** PG  
**Notes:** This takes place during the Digimon Kaiser arc, after everyone has their second Digimental. This was also written for three what-if challenges: what if the Evil Rings/Spirals could be used to control humans, what if Daisuke were captured by the Digimon Kaiser, and what if Daisuke got lost in the Digital World during one of their trips? It's also my entry for the Summer/Autumn Event 2014 at the Digimon Fanfiction Challenge forum.  
**Summary:** [WIP, Ken & Daisuke, What-if Challenge & Summer/Autumn Event 2014] Daisuke knows fun. Being lost in the Digital World and found by his mortal enemy? That is not fun. At all.

* * *

V-mon wanted to fly. He wanted to sprout wings that he didn't have and fly at a speed that not even Holsemon could match and run down the Kaiser and _take his partner back_.

But he couldn't. Stuck here, unable to evolve, even if he'd had an evolution that could fly in the first place, all he could do was watch the Chosen and their partners who _could_ fly vanish into the distance, chasing a swiftly diminishing spot in the sky.

"V-mon?" Iori and Armadimon came up to him. Iori had spoken, his voice low and concerned. "They'll get him back."

"I know." V-mon didn't know that, but he said it anyway. He had to believe they would. He couldn't sit there and just imagine that they'd fail. Sooner or later, no matter what they had to go through, they _would_ get Daisuke back, and he couldn't see any reason why it wouldn't be sooner.

All right, all of those Digimon he could just see attacking Pegasumon, Nefertimon, and Holsemon probably made up a good reason, but something had to go right for them. That was good enough for him.

Iori settled down next to him, Armadimon beside his partner. "We are never going to forgive Ken for this."

As if V-mon would even think about forgiving him. He really wanted a chance to talk to Wormmon about this. He wouldn't call the small grub a friend, but there had been moments when he thought Wormmon thought more like they did than like Ken did.

Once they'd spoken to each other. Just once, when Ken had captured both Daisuke and V-mon. The memory hovered in the back of V-mon's mind, as clear right now as the day it had happened.

_"Hey, you!" V-mon had snapped the words out as soon as he'd recovered enough to know what was going on. Daisuke lay unconscious a short distance away, and some strange person in weird clothes (V-mon actually found all clothes weird, since he didn't wear them himself, but these were a strange and special kind of weird) bent over him, doing something V-mon didn't really get. Maybe if he wore clothes he would._

But right in front of him was another Digimon, and that was something V-mon did understand. He hadn't met many since being released, and this wasn't one of them. Small and green, with large blue eyes, he stared at V-mon intently.

"What do you want? Don't disturb K-my master while he's busy!"

The first thing that struck V-mon was that this Digimon didn't sound at all like what he would've expected from a minion of someone like the Digimon Kaiser. Who else could that other human be, after all?

"I want you both to let us go!" V-mon started to get up, only to realize then that he'd been stuck to the ground by something thick and sticky. "Hey! What is this?"

"My Sticky Net." The worm moved closer. "You're not going to go anywhere until the Kaiser says you can."

V-mon strained at what bound him as hard as he could. It didn't give a bit, and he didn't have much time to try before the Kaiser stood up. V-mon couldn't see what he held in his hands, only that he had something, and he doubted that it belonged to him, not after he'd been doing whatever it was he was doing to Daisuke.

"Let us go!" He shouted even louder than before, but for all his yelling, the Kaiser paid him no mind whatsoever.

"You know what to do, Wormmon." With nothing more than that, the Kaiser scooped Daisuke up over his shoulder and carried him away.

V-mon fought even harder, not even noticing when Wormmon came closer and cut his bonds until he could suddenly stand on his feet again.

"Come with me. Or you're not going to see your partner again."

Oddly enough, it didn't sound like a threat coming from him. It sounded … sad. As if Wormmon didn't really want to be doing any of this.

V-mon followed along where Wormmon led, not trusting the Digimon, but if it meant he could see Daisuke again, then he would do it.

"Why are you doing what the Kaiser wants? Does he have one of those Ring things on you too?" He couldn't see one but what Digimon would just follow someone like this blindly?

Wormmon peeked toward him. "He's my partner." His eyes dropped for a moment. "I shouldn't have said that. He doesn't like me to call myself that."

V-mon blinked several times. That could not have been right at all. The only humans who had Digimon partners were **Chosen Children** and the Digimon Kaiser couldn't be one of those! A real Chosen Child protected the Digital World! There wouldn't be any of this conquering stuff!

But no matter how much he tried to get Wormmon to talk to him about it, the bug Digimon said nothing else, only guided him to where the Kaiser had apparently ordered them to go. Finding out he was going to be chained to a cliff wall didn't put V-mon in the best of moods, either.

But he never did forget those few words, or the look of sadness in Wormmon's eyes.

He sighed deeply. "I don't care if we forgive him or not." The more he thought of it, he really didn't. "I just want Daisuke back." They could decide then if they could or should forgive Ken. But he didn't really _want_ to.

Iori's eyes darkened, his fingers tightening on a stick he'd picked up from somewhere. "He doesn't deserve it. Not at all. People like him don't want to be any better."

V-mon wasn't in the mood to argue about it. He kept his attention on the skies above, where he could just see a swirl that could either be a bank of clouds or the forces of the Kaiser fighting against the Chosen Children. He still wished for wings and the power to fly, but above all else, he wished for Daisuke to be safe.

* * *

Nefertimon ducked and rolled, an AirDramon's Spinning Needle attack flashing through the area she'd been only moments earlier. Hikari's grip on her mane didn't ease up, but she could hear her partner's breath coming faster and faster.

"Are you all right?" Nefertimon asked, getting herself steadier in the air and keeping an eye out for that AirDramon or any of its companions. They'd managed to release a few of their opponents, but there were still a good half-dozen AirDramon, GigaDramon, and MegaDramon rising against them.

"I'm fine!" Hikari leaned forward to call into her partner's ear. The grip of her legs tightened, and Nefertimon rose up before Hikari could speak, warning of the GigaDramon as it flashed closer to them.

_Destroying the Rings and Spirals sounds so easy until you actually try to do it!_ Nefertimon barely had time to shape the thought, concentrating instead on blasting a few Nile Jewelry attacks at the GigaDramon. One of them managed to hit the Spiral that bound the creature, though it didn't entirely shatter it. Spirals tended to take at least two good attacks from her or Pegasumon to completely shatter. Sometimes Nefertimon wanted to find out whoever had designed all of this and give them a very good talking to.

That would have to wait until they weren't in the middle of combat, though. Nefertimon flapped her wings, going higher and higher, the GigaDramon circling around as well. She was a little more manuverable in the air, but this one was a viscious Digimon, even without the Digimon Kaiser's will overriding its own. She couldn't remember ever having met a GigaDramon that wasn't ready to defend itself to the end anyway. Not that she went out of her way to meet GigaDramon.

There! "Rosetta Stone!" Her attack flashed forward, a huge slab of stone imbued with the power of Light itself, crashing into the Evil Spiral. Cracks grew wider, and Nefertimon prepared herself to make one more attack. Before she could, however, the Spiral broke off entirely, and the GigaDramon hovered in place in confusion.

Nefertimon tensed, still ready to back off and defend if she needed to, but the GigaDramon shook its head and sloped off out of sight, clearly not wanting anything more to do with this battle.

"How much more do we have?" Nefertimon tilted her head to try to get a look at Hikari. While she liked being able to carry her partner like this, she did miss being able to become Angewomon and watch her without getting a crick in her neck.

"We're almost done!" Hikari gestured and Nefertimon turned to see the AirDramon they'd avoided before getting freed by one of Holsmon's attacks. A little farther along, Pegasmon broke the Spiral binding one of the Megadramon.

But what she noticed most of all was that there wasn't any sign of the AirDramon carrying the Digimon Kaiser and Daisuke.

She didn't say anything, though. From the way everyone else kept throwing looks in the direction they'd last seen their enemy and his prisoner, they already knew.

* * *

One by one, Miyako, Takeru, Hikari, and their partners came back to where Iori, Armadimon, and V-mon waited for them. Despite all of their hopes, no one was that surprised when Daisuke wasn't with them.

"Ken's not going to give him up without more of a fight. He'd probably going to try to put another Ring on him. Or even a Spiral."

Takeru's words sent chills down everyone's spines. They'd gone through this with Agumon once already, and it wasn't getting any better when it came to Daisuke. If anything, it would probably be worse. The sun nearly reached the horizon by the time they arrived at one of the portals back to their world, and they all knew this meant one thing: they had to explain where Daisuke was to his family. Somehow.

"I'll tell them he's at my place," Takeru said after a few silent moments where everyone stared more at the small television than they did at each other. "But tomorrow, we get him back."

Tomorrow they would also have to somehow explain his absence at school and see if whatever they came up with could extend to his family as well. None of them had any ideas as of yet.

"I'm going to stay here tonight," V-mon said as Hikari began to take out her D-3. "Maybe I'll be able to find something."

"Are you sure?" Iori wanted to know, fidgeting with his own D-3. "It could be dangerous. If any of the Kaiser's slaves attack you..."

V-mon just shook his head. "I'll be all right. You guys go on home."

There wasn't a single one of them, human or Digimon, who wanted to leave. Ken might've escaped clean and would certainly turn up again with Daisuke, whatever his plans were, but no one wanted to let him have a whole night to himself to plot.

Except they also needed to go home and check in with family and eat and rest themselves. They couldn't get anything done if they were to hungry to think or fight.

"We'll meet you here tomorrow, then," Takeru said. V-mon nodded and stood there watching as the Chosen and partners all crossed back over to Earth.

As soon as they were gone, he turned and started away. He didn't know where the Kaiser's lair was located, and he needed something to eat as much as the others did. Once Daisuke was found and free, he would need to be able to evolve, and that was a standard truth among all Digimon: no food, no fighting.

Maybe he could even find some of the older Digimon partners. He really wanted to talk to Agumon and Gabumon, now that the thought occurred to him. Agumon was the only one they all knew personally who'd ever had an Evil Ring or Spiral on him. Those Digimon they freed from the Kaiser never wanted to talk about it, and tended to stay away from the whole situation. But maybe Agumon could give some kind of advice.

Somewhere in the deepest depths of his mind, he could not help but hope that Wormmon would help Daisuke. Somehow.

**To Be Continued**


End file.
